MA
Contributor
Short answer: yes. Osprey reef is magnificent. Others may have a differing view.
Day Trips vs. Liveaboards in Australia as well as must-see Dive Sites
- Thread starter louielao
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If you need to get the Coral sea out of your system, go from the PNG side. It's harder to get to and less beat up than the parts you can get to from Oz. If you're stuck with Oz, going the route you're on is the best one. Those LAB trips get farther out to more virgin spots - and sometimes you get a helicopter ride
We've done two trips with Spirit of Freedom this year. A 7 day and 3 day. Both were awesome. They also offer a 4 day trip which goes to Osprey reef which is outstanding diving. Boat and crew are first class and you are offered a guide on every dive if you require one.
It's expensive, but all diving in Oz is expensive and when you factor in 4 meals a day plus 4 or 5 dives a day, it's cheaper than land based.
So good that we are planning our third trip ......
It's expensive, but all diving in Oz is expensive and when you factor in 4 meals a day plus 4 or 5 dives a day, it's cheaper than land based.
So good that we are planning our third trip ......
I have not made it to the 'Land Down Under' yet but it sounds like the GBR is very similar to The Blue Hole in Belize...you just got to dive it because it is there but there are better dives that just do not get the notoriety.
Hi again, I'm sorry but I have more questions to ask.
1. Is it recommended to get Nitrox fills for both the Yongala Wreck Dives (2 diving days) and the Taka Ribbon Reef live aboard? What is the deepest depth that we will encounter? Do they have a standard percentage for Nitrox fills?
2. On the average, what time will the latest night dive on Taka live aboard start and end? I'm trying to calculate the 18-hour (do you guys suggest we do 24 hours?) no-fly time since we might need to catch a flight back the next day. Last night dive on March 8, arrive back in Cairns in the morning of March 9, will it be safe to fly back to Sydney at 3:40pm using Jet Star or 4:50pm using Virgin Australia?
3. Our other option is to fly in the next day to Sydney, which is March 10 using the 5:10am flight of Virgin Australia that will arrive Sydney at 9:15am. Our problem is, we have a flight back to Manila on that same day (March 10) at 11:45am. We are worried that we might be risking it and will not make our connection flight back home. Is this feasible?
Thank you!
1. Is it recommended to get Nitrox fills for both the Yongala Wreck Dives (2 diving days) and the Taka Ribbon Reef live aboard? What is the deepest depth that we will encounter? Do they have a standard percentage for Nitrox fills?
2. On the average, what time will the latest night dive on Taka live aboard start and end? I'm trying to calculate the 18-hour (do you guys suggest we do 24 hours?) no-fly time since we might need to catch a flight back the next day. Last night dive on March 8, arrive back in Cairns in the morning of March 9, will it be safe to fly back to Sydney at 3:40pm using Jet Star or 4:50pm using Virgin Australia?
3. Our other option is to fly in the next day to Sydney, which is March 10 using the 5:10am flight of Virgin Australia that will arrive Sydney at 9:15am. Our problem is, we have a flight back to Manila on that same day (March 10) at 11:45am. We are worried that we might be risking it and will not make our connection flight back home. Is this feasible?
Thank you!
I would STRONGLY consider, especially given that you have a budget and limited time, that you go to Byron Bay and dive there. It's what we did when we went to Australia. We enjoyed Sydney, and then went up to the Hunter Valley and went wine tasting. Then we flew to Brisbane and rented a car, and drove down to Byron Bay. We spent three days diving with Sundive, and we had a ball. I would love to go back. The town has some beautiful hotels and some budget places, but we stayed a bit out of town at Planula Lodge, which was perfect for divers. There are great restaurants. The ride from the dive shop to the dive site is about 20 minutes. The density and variety of marine life was amazing. We were in the same situation you are -- we wanted to dive the GBR, but didn't have the time or money to do a liveaboard, and we were worried about the awful reports of the inshore reefs. Byron Bay was the answer.
NautilusCairns
Contributor
Why don't you check with the Taka operators, Deep Sea Divers Den here in Cairns? www.[B]diversden[/B].com.au
Last time I went on Taka was in June this year for a Dwarf Minke Whale trip. Steamed up to the Ribbon Reefs on Thursday night and started diving first thing on Friday morning. Included a couple of dives at the Cod Hole on the Saturday which was great. Last dive about 4:00PM Sunday, back into Cairns early Monday morning. Almost 24 hours no flying time for you. Average depth around 25 metres, deepest around 30 metres. Recommend nitrox for multiple dive days, it cost extra.
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